Steven Spielberg movies are well known for their great special effects and blockbuster storylines and this is no exception. Based on Michael Crichton’s book, Jurassic Park became the most successful movie ever when it was released in the early 1990’s and rightfully so if all you are interested in is special effects.
The Plot...
A wealthy entrepreneur has created a prehistoric theme park on a remote island which features real live dinosaurs which have been cloned from extracting their DNA from blood found in mosquitos discovered fossilised in amber. In order to gain approval before opening the park to the public he invites a paleontologist, paleobotanist, mathematician and his two grand-children to experience the park. However, things do not go according to plan as the dinosaurs break through the electrified fencing and seek human prey.
So...
The creature effects in this film are stunning, the cast o.k., the storyline and script a little dodgy but passable but at the end of the day this is your usual big blockbuster action adventure movie but with the added bonus of big scaly lizards. However, this is still a highly enjoyable movie which although rated as a PG still offers a few moments which may be rather scary for younger children. Unfortunately, the lead up to the dinosaurs’ escape is rather drawn-out, with the viewer obviously expected to be captivated by the special effects which worked at the cinema but translates poorly to video(a T-Rex looks somewhat less impressive when its 6 inches high). However, once the action does begin it is almost non-stop (leaving little space for dumb lines which is a blessing), as the humans try to escape from the island in the face of a marauding T-Rex and highly intelligent veloceraptors.
And...
My only real problem with this film is that the marketing machine, which usually lurks in the shadow of a blockbuster movie, is on full display here. That a sequel will be made(and has been - don’t watch it, it was terrible) is blatantly obvious as numerous scenes are in place to facilitate its production - for example when some vials of DNA are lost in the park. In another section, the camera pans across a large array of Jurassic Park merchandise which is on display in the park’s gift shop for no apparent cinematic purpose, other than to maybe promote those items which would hit our stores shortly after the film’s release(although it may alsobe argued that this is some tongue-in-cheek humour on behalf of Mr. Spielberg). I fully understand that if you make a motion picture with a budget of this size then you need to make the money back, but surely it doesn’t have to be this obvious!
However, gripe over, this film is very enjoyable but let down by its transition onto the small screen and over marketing throughout.